Wisdom is Supreme
“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding”. Proverbs 4:7This week our Development team received wisdom. It cost us three long days away from our families and the office, but it was worth every minute.
Actually, it maybe the best 3 days of any professional investment I’ve made in a long time. Not because of the subject matter – yes development and fundraising are incredibly important for ministries like SpringHill – but because of the wisdom of our seminar leader Bill McConkey of McConkey Johnston International.
Bill has been a development professional for 50 years as well as a local church pastor for over 40. He sits on boards of well-known and significant ministries while continuing both his consulting and pastoral work. Bill embodies wisdom.
Which had me thinking, why is there such a serious lack appreciation in our culture for true wisdom and its sources?
First we need to understand wisdom. Wisdom is the accumulated learning and knowledge one has gathered from personal experience or the experience of others. The two key words are “accumulated” and “experience”, both of which can only happen over a long period of time, such as a… life time. By implication then, the only truly wise people walking the earth are those who’ve been around a long time and those who have learned from them.
Which is why our culture doesn’t value true wisdom, we don’t value the people who have it. There’s a bias against older people because they’re not always “current”. Bill McConkey doesn’t own a computer, thus never does email. So it would be easy to dismiss things Bill has to say, but oh, what a mistake that would be (could it be that Bill’s wiser because he doesn’t have email?).
So beyond all that I learned about fundraising this week I also reminded of my need to be with and around wise people, those who’ve traveled life for a long time, because “wisdom is supreme”.
Jim Collins & Great by Choice
Mark Olson, SpringHill’s former President, was the first to introduce Jim Collins and his work to SpringHill through the book Built to Last.It was in reading Built to Last that I became a fan of Jim Collins, and it certainly wouldn’t be far off to say, over the years, that I’ve become a disciple of Jim Collin’s research/writing. Since Built to Last, I’ve read all his books, have had our key leaders read his books, then continued the practice Mark started of applying the books’ principles to SpringHill.
After 15 years and 5 books, both Collins’ concepts and terminology have become part of the SpringHill culture. Read our strategic/ministry plan and you’ll see how Collins’ work has impacted and influenced SpringHill.
In an effort to avoid becoming an organization that is always chasing the “flavor of the day” we’ve been intentional about staying consistent in using Collins’s concepts and terminology. We acknowledge there are other good management consultants who use different terminology and have their own twist on strategic and leadership concepts. But we believe it’s counterproductive to switch, mix and change language within a culture, in the name of being cutting edge, when the underlying principles are similar or the same.
Finally we’ve stayed with Collins and his work because, unlike so many other experts and their books, the concepts derive from rigorous research not anecdotal evidence, opinion or folk-lore.
Which brings me to Collins’ new book (written with Morten T. Hansen) – Great by Choice, it’s another “great” work based on “great” research. Many of SpringHill leaders have already read it and a number of our department teams, including my leadership team, have plans to carry out the appropriate concepts into SpringHill.
So once again, Collins provides timely and relevant insight for organizations and leaders looking to stay or become “great”. I highly recommend it.
It’s Not 1980 Anymore
It’s dangerous to clean your basement. I was reminded of this fact in my recent purging. What did I find that was so dangerous?Four old Steelcase chairs, the same model I use to assemble during the summers while attending college.
Why would 30-year-old chairs heavy enough to anchor a battle ship be so dangerous? Because, as with most things found buried in a basement, they brought back a flood of memories. And those memories got me to thinking about the world my kids are entering.
First for the memories; I had a great summer job, but not uncommon for 1980.
I averaged between $9 and $10 an hour plus overtime, working 45 to 50 hours a week.
I received: holiday pay for the 4th of July plus two quarterly profit-sharing bonuses
I made nearly $7000 (the equivalent today of over $18,000).
And college only cost me $3500 a year.
Now for the dangerous part – thinking about my kids and the world they’re entering.
There’s no summer job anywhere that a student can make $7000 let alone the equivalent of $18,000 that I made. Today, with a reasonably good summer job, a student might make $4000 to $5000.
The average cost for tuition and room and board of a 4 year public university is hovering around $20,000 a year.
Which means a student may need to finance up to $15,000 a year/$60,000 total for a college education.
The numbers say it all. It’s apparent the values and priorities of our country have swung from assuring our young people have the best chance of succeeding, to financing the lives of those who have already had their opportunities.
2012 provides us yet another chance to make the courageous decisions necessary for our kids and thus our future. I pray that we’ll be courageous once again.
Time – One of Our Most Valuable Gifts
If I learned anything in 2011 it’s that time isn’t just my most valuable resources, it’s a gift.
It’s a gift because it’s part of God’s creation. It’s one of God’s most valuable gifts because (along with space) it’s the context in which we experience all His other good gifts.
In the book What to Ask the Person in the Mirror (see my post) Robert Steven Kaplan recommends leaders do an audit of how they spend their time. Sensing, that with the growth of SpringHill, I was beginning to lose my grip on this gift, I did a time audit in November and early December.
I accomplished this audit by carrying around an Excel spreadsheet with a list of key activities I do, or should do, during a typical week. Then I marked down, in ¼ hour segments, where I spent my time. I did a tally at the end of each day and at the end of the week. After the first week I made adjustments in the spreadsheet to better reflect where I was actually spending my time. It was a simple process, requiring little time and, most importantly, it was enlightening.
After five weeks one major theme became apparent – the time I’m committing to my work has increased as SpringHill has grown. The trouble is, if this pattern continues, one day I’m going to run out of time (time being a finite resource), which could result in me becoming a hurdle instead of an aid to SpringHill continuing to reach more kids in more places more effectively.
This result would be unacceptable. So I’m taking intentional steps in 2012 to do a better job with the gift of time God’s given me. (See my post on questions to ask yourself in preparing for 2012).
What will you do with your gift this year?
10 Questions to Ask Yourself about 2011
Every year over the Christmas holidays I take time away from work and spend it with family, doing needed projects around the house, and readying myself for the New Year. One exercise I do in preparation for the upcoming year is to set personal goals, as well as layout plans to achieve those goals.
As in any goal setting exercise, I always begin by evaluating the past year. After a conversation about 2011 with my good friend Jack McQueeney, Executive Director of the Navigators’ Glen Eyrie Group, he sent me the following list of thought-provoking questions to help me evaluate 2011 and plan for 2012. I share them with you in hopes that they’ll be as helpful to you as they have been for me.
- What is the greatest lesson you learned this year that you never want your kids to forget?
- How might you have behaved or acted differently this year if you had to do it over again?
- Looking back over the year, what did you set out to do that you didn’t do and why?
- What key discipline did you live out this past year that had a significant impact on your life? What was the impact?
- What are you most proud of this year?
- What were the key surprises (good or bad) that happened this year?
- Which relationships in your life grew this year and which regressed?
- If you could go back to the beginning of this year, what piece of advice would you give yourself? Why?
- Looking back, what was the overarching theme for the year?
- What will be your overarching theme for next year?
Are there other questions you’ve found helpful to answer in evaluating your life? Please share them with us.
A Gift for You
It’s Christmas and I want to offer you a personal gift I’ve been working on for the last year, and with the help of family and good friends it’s ready for you.It’s personal because in December 2010 I asked God to direct how He might use me during 2011 and beyond in a way that I wasn’t anticipating. Then on an early morning run God provided a simple answer – I was to combine my commitment to encouraging others to read the Scriptures with my love of reading the entire Bible each year. I’d do this by publishing my journal entries for each of my daily readings, first via a blog then in book form. My goal’s been to encourage all my family and friends to join me in reading the entire Bible.
So I’ve been journaling daily this past year with this goal in mind, praying that God would somehow use this gift to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Now Volume 1 (Days 1-90) of Reading the Bible through in a Year is ready for you. The reading schedule takes you through the Old and the New Testament side by side. It’s my favorite schedule because the Old Testament helps us better understand the New Testament while the New Testament brings the texts of the Old Testament to life.
If you’re interested in receiving Volume 1 and being on the list for the next 3 volumes simply subscribe to my blog (upper right corner of my blog). If you have any technical issues in subscribing please feel free to contact Lynn Fischer at lfischer@springhillcamps.com
Merry Christmas and a fruitful 2012.
Intersection of the Past, Present and Future
My high school Young Life group at Wilderness Ranch There are those moments in our lives where our past crosses our present as it moves towards the future. It’s in those moments of intersection that God provides a glimpse into how He’s orchestrating our lives for a purpose we may have never seen or anticipated.
I had one of these moments this past week when I had the opportunity to speak with Young Life’s Camping Department about leadership, professionalism and the current state of Christian camping. It’s an intersection because of the significant role Young Life’s played in my life.
I’m a Young Life kid meaning I attended Young Life club, campaigners and camp as a high school student. Next, my wife Denise and I served seven years as volunteer Young Life leaders. Then I moved into involvement on Young Life area committees before stepping back because of family and work commitments.
Young Life’s played an enormous role in my spiritual, emotional and leadership development as well as influenced my personal philosophy of ministry. So when I was asked by Steve Thompson, Young Life’s Vice President for camping, to speak to his team, an intersection of my past and present occurred.
But it’s also an intersection of the present and the future because of the continued need of Christian camps and other youth ministries to work together to serve young people. Because of the world in which we live and the culture we’re called to work, I’m convinced the future of effective ministry to young people will require the cooperation of like-minded organizations such as SpringHill and Young Life.
This week my past intersected with my present, but it’s to the future where I’ve now set my eyes and will continue to take steps on the path God’s graciously illuminated for me.
Why Do You Spend Your Precious Time…?
Yesterday we had one of our three yearly “all staff” meetings which follow each of our three “seasons”. Our agenda’s consistent for each meeting – we review the results of the completed season as well as the anticipated results of the upcoming season and year.
It’s an opportunity to celebrate and pray together as well as ask questions, make suggestions and assure we’re aligned as a team.
We want these meetings to be fun, informative, causal, real and helpful in achieving our goals. We speak frankly and with full transparency about how we’re performing and what’s needed in the months and years to come.
At the end of this particular meeting, as a first in many discussions related to the task of re-articulating SpringHill’s vision statement, I asked our staff to begin to think, reflect and pray about the following three questions (taken from What to Ask the Person in the Mirror by Robert Steven Kaplan –see my 10/23/2011 post) .
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What do we (you) hope SpringHill will achieve in the years ahead?
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What’s special about SpringHill?
- Why do you spend your precious time and energy working for SpringHill?
Over the next several months the answers to these questions will become key inputs into our vision re-articulation.
But today I asked our team for some impromptu answers. Their responses were moving, inspiring, stunning and made me proud to be on this team.
Here are just three of many answers (paraphrased) to question 3 our staff shared:
“I’m able to fulfill God’s calling in my life of creating cool and inspiring environments that God can use to transform lives.”
“God changed my life when I was a SpringHill camper, now I can help create the same life transforming experiences for other people.”
We have a great start to this important task of brining new clarity to the SpringHill vision.
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Always a Return on Time Invested
I’ve posted in the past about the peer learning group I’m a part of we call the Chicago 7 (click here for my post on its purpose and benefits). This week we finished one of our semiannual meetings and once again I walked away challenged, encouraged, inspired and thankful for such great friends and the time we have together.
We studied two books simultaneously – What to Ask the Person in the Mirror by Robert Steven Kaplan (look for my post on Sunday for a review of this great book) and the biblical book Philippians. The combination created powerful moments of dialogue between the seven of us.
The following are a few of the statements made during our dialogues I recorded in my journal. They provide a glimpse into the topics and tone of our discussions.
“Through their life every leaders telling a story of what they value”
“Affirm the virtue in the values of people today but discern the vulnerability of those same values.”
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Ken Blanchard
“Mentoring is internal, coaching is external.”
“Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” Jackson Brown
“Many things we perceive as problems to be solved are really polarities to be managed.”
As a result of these discussions I always end up with a long list of “to do’s” for myself and for SpringHill. These “to do’s” spring from the ideas shared by others, new learning’s I’ve encountered or simply the new insights into issues I currently face.
So every time I walk away from a Chicago 7 meeting I’ve grown and SpringHill’s benefited. It’s one of the best “return on time investments” I make each year.
Creating Space
I just completed a regularly planned ritual I began after my first year at SpringHill when I experienced the seasonality of both SpringHill’s work and my job. Now before the end of any given 4 month “season” I lay out my calendar for the next season.
I literally create space by blocking off days for planning, administrative work, meeting with staff and supporters and yes – days off, all based on my goals for the season and the year.
I learned in that first year that if I didn’t take a proactive approach to my schedule it would be filled by others. And if my calendar became filled by others that meant there would be very little time left for many of the other things I needed to do for SpringHill, my family, and myself.
Now don’t get me wrong I work hard to make myself available to our staff, board and supporters as I create space by planning my calendar.
Being available and approachable is a high value of mine.
But without a thoughtful plan I actually become less available and can seem more unapproachable because of the frantic pace I end up running.
So after that first year I learned this fundamental truth – only I can be responsible for my time, my days, and my calendar.
I can’t entrust it to others.
And it’s not fair to do so, because they’re not in a position to manage my time. They’re only in a position to use it.
Only I’m in a position to manage my time, and create the space needed to do the things that only I can do for SpringHill, for my family, and for myself.
To read more on related topics see my posts:
